The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners program is an invaluable resource for landowners who wish to restore and conserve their property for wildlife. (www.fws.gov)

Introduction

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a federal bureau within the Department of the Interior. FWS implements and enforces numerous federal environmental laws in order to "conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people [1]."

FWS serves a variety of functions to fulfill its overall responsibilities. The Service monitors and manages endangered species as well as migratory birds, lists endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, restores wildlife habitats and commercial fisheries, manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, exacts revenue through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Recreation Program [2], oversees the distribution of conservation funds to the states, and participates in international conservation efforts.

The current director of FWS is Rowan W. Gould, who assumed the post in the winter of 2010 following the passing of director Sam Hamilton.

Organization

The FWS operates a national office and a number of Regional offices[3]. The headquarters in Arlington, VA articulates operational and budgetary policies, and a number of regional offices execute those policies in eight distinct Regions. At the national level, a number of divisions, organized under Assistant Directors, oversee specific FWS programs and policies.

Divisions include:

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs;

Fisheries and Habitat Conservation;

Budget, Planning, and Human Capital;

National Wildlife Refuge System;

Migratory Birds;

Endangered Species;

International Affairs;

Law Enforcement;

External Affairs;

Information Resources and Technology Management (CIO); and

Business Management and Operations.

The Service employs over 8500 employees [4] at their headquarters and among the different Regions.

Regions

Each Region operates under the supervision of a Regional Director.

Region 1 (Pacific Region)

Region 1 includes the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Pacific Island Territories. It contains a wide range of diverse habitats and environments, including old-growth rain forests and arid shrub-steppe landscapes.

FWS management in this region focuses heavily on forestry management and fisheries restoration, since such natural resource industries as logging and fishing are still the principal economic engines for many of the area's communities. Also, the Region is home to 44 federally-recognized Native American tribes—making treaty rights often essential management considerations. Region 1 is characterized by high rates of federal land ownership, particularly in Idaho.

Regional Concerns

Management of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the world's largest fully protected marine conservation area;

Region 2 (Southwest Region)

Region 2 includes the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Region encompasses the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuandeserts as well as Gulf Coast wetlands and barrier islands. Other habitats in the area include prairies, playa lakes, and mountains, with a maximum elevation just shy of 13,000 feet.

Eighty-three Native American tribal nations live in the region, and FWS has expressed a continued interest in intergovernmental cooperation on issues affecting tribal governance or trust resources [5]. Yet, management goals and practices often clash with established tribal traditions. For example, changes to the Bald Eagle "take" permitting process have caused a great deal of controversy among Arizona tribes [6].

Regional Concerns

The deterioration of resources in certain National Wildlife Refuges along the country's southern border with Mexico, resulting from heavy traffic by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers;

Relationship-building with the energy industry, with an eye to utilization of the Region's capacity for alternative energy development;

Region 3 (Midwest Region)

Region 3 encompasses the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. The Region extends southward from Minnesota and the Great Lakes Region. Four of the five Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior—fall at least partially within Region 3, and Lake Michigan is contained entirely within its borders. The Region contains the basin of the Upper Mississippi River and the Ohio and Missouri Rivers, as well as tallgrass prairies, wetlands, Great Lake reefs, and northern forests.

The Region oversaw the successful recovery of several imperiled species, including the peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and gray wolf [7], and continues to monitor the progress of the whooping crane, that is currently at an all-time population high [8].

Region 4 (Southeast Region)

In the contiguous United States, Region 4 stretches across ten states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In the Caribbean, Region 4 includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Navassa Island. The Appalachian Mountains extend through the Region, as do the Ozark Mountains. Also, the Region encompasses the southern half of the Mississippi River Delta. Many unique ecosystems are located in the Region, including "coastal marshes, coral reefs, bottomland hardwoods, the Appalachian and Ozark Mountains, caves, and longleaf pine forests" [9]. The Southeast Region contains five of the country's ten most populous metropolitan areas, and the population is projected to grow by another 25 percent by 2025 [10].

Preservation of the Everglades, especially in the face of rising sea levels; and

Preservation of the coastal wetlands along the Gulf Coast. The wetlands were already threatened by rising sea levels and are now in danger of experiencing further loss as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Regional Office is located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Region 5 (Northeast Region)

Region 5 covers the District of Columbia and thirteen states—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Northeast is populous, and nearly one quarter of the United States' population resides in the Region. The Appalachian Mountains continue northward through the Region towards Canada. Notable water bodies include portions of two of the five Great Lakes—Erie and Ontario—and the Chesapeake Bay. The Northeast's landscape is largely defined by estuaries, coastal plains, salt and freshwatermarshes, Atlantic northern forests, coastal beaches, and barrier islands [11].

Regional Concerns

Effects of dense human populations and development on fish and wildlife resources;

A phenomenon - known colloquially as "white nose syndrome" - involving the deaths of tens of thousands of bats in the region over the past few years. [12]

The Regional Office is located in Washington, DC.

Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region)

Region 6 includes the states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The Region is home to the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains as well as the shallow wetlands known as prairie potholes. Prairie potholes are crucial breeding grounds for many of North America's migratory waterfowl [13], and such wildlife species as the American bison and the grizzly bear live in the Region's mountain or prairie habitats. Several rivers, including the Missouri, the Platte, and the Colorado Rivers, originate in the Mountain-Prairie Region.

Regional Concerns

Conservation of native species such as the Northern Rockies gray wolf and the Yellowstone grizzly bear;

Impacts of energy development on fish, wildlife, and their habitats; and

Water management for the preservation of fish species in light of increased demand from developing areas

The Regional Office is located in Denver, Colorado.

Region 7 (Alaska Region)

Region 7 covers the state of Alaska, and it is the only FWS Region to manage a single state. The Region's National Wildlife Refuge system is massive, accounting for over 80 percent of all Refuge land managed by FWS. [14]. The state of Alaska is relatively undeveloped, and ofifth of the population lives in rural areas [15]. Roughly 230 federally recognized tribes live in the Region. The climate in the Region varies from the northern tundra, to boreal forests, to rain forests along the southern coast.

Regional Concerns

The status of the Pacific walrus, a species about which relatively little is known, amid petitions to list the animal on the Endangered Species list [16];

Regulation of tribes' traditional "takes" of fish and wildlife; and

Development pressures in the Region's wildlife refuges.

The Regional Office is located in Anchorage, Alaska.

Region 8 (Pacific Northwest Region)

Region 8 includes the states of California and Nevada (and Oregon, insofar as it encompasses the Klamath River watershed ), and was established in 1998 in response to the "unique resource challenges of the area" [17]. The Region's highly biodiverse habitats face constant pressure on land and resources from the rapid growth of surrounding communities. The landscape includes such varied environments as Pacific coastline, temperate rainforest, desert, and mountains, including the Sierra Nevada range [18].

Regional Concerns

Water management and permitting for conservation use, as development and population growth continue to create increased resource demand (especially in the Klamath Basin, the Central Valley refuges, and the San Francisco Bay-Delta, and areas of Nevada where groundwater supplies are strained [19])

The Regional Office is located in Sacramento, California.

Environmental Laws Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Fish and Wildlife Service plays a major role in implementing and enforcing many U.S. federal laws, including:

History

The FWS emerged from a 1940 reorganization plan of the Department of the Interior that consolidated the Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey into the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 created the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife as part of the Service. When the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife position was eliminated in 1974, pursuant to an amendment of the 1956 Act, the Bureau was designated as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [20].